The Forum by Marie Reyes (short books for teens .txt) 📕

would never be over. The guilt made her want to drink more than anything. Anything to forget the smell of burning, the hot roar of flames, the choking smoke. It was because she drank, that she fell asleep with that cigarette. Her whole family had to be treated for smoke inhalation, and the damage to the house was extensive.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to bring all this shit up again. I want to move past it." He put his hand on top of hers on the kitchen counter and looked into her eyes. His damned eyes. At one point she felt she could gaze into them forever, and then during the split, one glance would evoke the most powerful rage, and now... now she wasn't sure.

What was he doing? Trying to make her feel better? Instinct made her want to pull her hand away, but something about the warm familiarity made her keep it there. It had been so long since she had any contact. She pulled her hand back after letting it linger there for a few seconds. "I'll put the kettle on... for the hot chocolate."

"Kettle? You can't make it with hot water. That ain't right. It's Christmas Eve. We have to do it properly. Pass me the milk." He rifled through the cabinets looking for a pan.

"Mom, is someone after you?" Stephen had appeared in the doorway, almost giving her a heart attack. She hadn't heard him coming over the sounds of Trent clattering around in the kitchen.

"What do you mean?" Had she misheard him? What the hell was he talking about?

"Your computer." Stephen pointed into the living room.

"What were you doing on mommy's computer?" What had she been thinking, giving them the password earlier that day? Well, she knew what she was thinking. She was thinking that she wanted a moment of peace in the car, and their favorite cartoons were just the ticket. What horrors had they stumbled across in her search history?

They must have stumbled across a tab she left open as they were gazing over the most recent forum posts. She ran over to close it just in time for her daughter to read out the name of the forum and ask what the word fuck meant. Piper slammed down the lid and whipped the laptop from the table, almost ripping it from the plug socket. Her children jumped, startled at her erratic movement.

"You shouldn't have read that. It's not for you."

"Sorry mommy." Clara looked on the verge of tears from her mother's outburst, and Stephen had a weird smirk on his face.

"What was that all about?" Trent asked, carrying two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, one in each hand, a bag of marshmallows under one arm, and a can of whipped cream in the other.

"Just me being an irresponsible piece of..." She stopped herself before cursing. Why couldn't she just be a normal mom? Not this cursing, smoking, ex-alcoholic who liked to hunt killers in her spare time.

"What are you into?" He went to take the laptop from her.

"No. It's stupid. You'll laugh."

"I promise I won't laugh." He set the mugs down on the rustic, reclaimed-wood table and took a seat next to her.

"I found this video online. Someone was murdered."

"Murdered?"

"They actually posted the murder online. I'm on this group. We're trying to help find the killer."

"Seriously?" He looked at her, and she couldn't decipher the emotion behind his eyes. She decided to interpret it as a derisive anger.

"It's nothing. Just a stupid thing. Although, we did find out where the second victim was and we tipped off the police, well one of the group did. I've barely been involved, just sort of keeping track." The glint of anger she had caught earlier had vanished.

"Oh Piper. You're so funny. Probably not a good idea to be doing that stuff around the kids though, right?"

"No, of course not. I hadn't even looked at it today. Must have been left up. Or maybe on my internet history."

"Just get rid of it."

"Sure. I'm on it." She grabbed her laptop and kept the screen away from Trent. Her cheeks burned from the fire and embarrassment, and she hoped he couldn't see it on her. Her heart felt like it was seizing up, and her chest tightening.

 

Not.all.heroes.wear.capes: Happy holidays. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but you have to stop. I have no interest in you. Just mind your own business, and I will leave you alone.

Pipes1983: If you wanted people to mind their own business, why did you post the video?

She had typed and sent the response before she could even rationalize it. Trent just asked her to leave it alone, and here she was replying. Replying, after what was an obvious threat. It was as if she was incapable of being responsible. It didn't matter if she promised herself to be better, or if other people asked her to think before acting. It was as if her brain never developed beyond that irresponsible teenage stage. There was an article she had read about how teenagers' brains worked different from adults, making them more reckless. It wasn't her fault; it was just biology.

Chapter Thirteen

LONDON

Nadia came from the kitchen with a steaming mug of chamomile tea in each hand and set his down on the table in front of him, placing it carefully on a coaster, like his table wasn't already covered in water ring marks. He had pointed out the futility of coasters in his crappy flat, on his old, worn furniture, but she didn't have much to say on the matter, and continued with the coasters. He joked that the water rings were ghosts of past drinks, and he didn't want to forget them, but she didn't crack a smile.

He wasn't much one for specialty teas, but she swore by